When I stepped back into Westbrook High, it didn't feel like a school anymore.
It felt like a trap.
Same red lockers. Same polished floors. Same scent of hallway deodorizer mixed with teenage sweat and anxiety. But beneath it all… something was off.
Too quiet.
Too clean.
Too watched.
Elias walked beside me, hood up. We'd disabled trackers, wiped our digital footprints, even scrambled our facial signatures using the lab's tech. Still, I could feel eyes.
Because I wasn't just Amara anymore.
I was a target.
We passed Mrs. Langley's office. She waved, too cheerfully. A little too… robotic.
"She's blinking in pattern," Elias whispered. "Three short. Two long."
"Control code," I said. "She's activated."
He nodded grimly.
The school was compromised.
They'd infiltrated everything—teachers, janitors, probably even the vending machines.
But that wasn't the worst part.
The worst part came when I walked into homeroom.
And saw her.
Sitting in my seat.
Smiling.
Same eyes. Same smirk.
But dressed in all black, with a small scar under her left jawline.
"Hey there," she said sweetly. "Took you long enough."
Elias froze behind me.
I clenched my fists. "Who are you?"
She giggled. "You already know."
My heartbeat thundered.
The hybrid.
Version Zero-One. V01.
She stood slowly, stepping closer. The room emptied without a word—students quietly, obediently filing out like someone had flipped a switch.
"What do you want?" I asked.
She leaned in close. "Your life. Your history. Your name."
She tilted her head. "But not your friends. They're all compromised anyway."
Elias stepped forward. "That's a lie."
She grinned wider. "Is it?"
A small device dropped from her hand.
A hologram spun out of it—footage.
Of Elias.
Sitting in a dark room.
Talking to Mason.
I turned slowly to Elias.
"What. Is. This?"
He stared at the screen, eyes wide. "I… I didn't know he was recording—"
"You lied?" I choked.
"I didn't lie! He threatened to kill my mom—I had no choice, Amara! I was trying to protect you!"
"By feeding him everything about me?"
V01 laughed. "And you thought love made you strong."
I spun toward her, fury rising like a wave.
She smirked. "Meet me on the roof. Alone. Or this school goes boom in seven minutes."
Then she was gone.
---
I looked at Elias, torn between heartbreak and rage.
"Tell me one thing," I whispered.
He swallowed. "Anything."
"Were you ever on my side?"
He hesitated.
And in that pause, my world cracked.